A New Day, A New Galaxy
by Jennifer Scott
Summary: Three years later, Destiny reaches the other galaxy. They meet a new friendly alien race (that almost never happens!), Eli meets a girl, they meet Descendants, and they find a way home. Includes their journey home. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

Feeling was the first thing to return to Eli. His body tingled pins and needles all over. Smell was the second. He could smell something startling close to barbecue nearby as if it was just under his nose. Taste was third. He taste metallic blood in his mouth. Sound was the third. He could hear the rush of blood in his ears and the muffled shouting that grew clearer. He didn't recognize the voices shouting. He didn't even recognize the language. Sight was last to return to him after waking up from his three years sleep. What he saw was a young unfamiliar human face that was staring directly into his eyes.

Eli screamed, but the woman pushed him down, mumbling something he couldn't understand. He struggled, but she was firm. He shouted something that he even he couldn't understand when another face came over. This one was not human, not in the least.

It had horns on its head, a cobalt blue near the base that transitioned into a light sapphire as it reached the end. His ears were the size of Eli's hands and much more maneuverable that his own. They twitched constantly. His eyes were also large with a significant pupil in the center and lacking an iris. His skin was rough and a shade not dissimilar to his horns.

He looked down at Eli. His eyes widened momentarily, but soon his hands reached into a bag by his side. They took out a silver container and began to apply a dark cream onto Eli. Eli screamed again as the substance burned. He tried to knock it away from himself, but again the woman held him down.

The woman talked quietly to him, mumbling soft words that would have calmed him but for the blazing sensation on his chest. When it became apparent to the woman that he would not calm down, she began to sing.

It was a soft, gentle voice. It reminded Eli of his own mother's singing when he was a boy. It also reminded him of sorrow and pain and struggling for life. He felt his heart slow down and his breathing all but stop. He felt his eyes flutter close once more.

* * *

He was dizzy when he came to. He quickly glanced around to see several of the crew of Destiny lying there. Most were out. A few had the strange aliens walking around them. He quickly noticed the long tails they had which also appeared to have some sort of stinger. Eli unintentionally let out a groan. Quickly, one of the aliens walked over to him and picked up his hand. He tried to pull it away, but the creature's grasp was firm. It wrote something down as it released his hand.

"Who are you?" It was barely a whisper.

The alien blinked in surprise as it spoke but quickly made a shill trilling sound and walked away. Eli wondered if he had just made some huge mistake.

To Eli's surprise, it was the woman from earlier who walked in. He now saw that she looked about his age, if not a little younger. She had fiery red hair which was pulled back into a long messy ponytail. Her eyes were golden, taking Eli aback a little. Then she smiled and spoke English.

"How are feeling?"

Eli just gawked for several seconds while absorbing the information.

"My name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cassy."

Eli continued to stare.

"You do understand me, don't you? You're Eli Wallace from Destiny, correct?"

Eli quickly found his composure as the last piece of the puzzle filled in his head. He stammered out, "You're a Descendant."

"And you are an Ancestor."

Eli smiled, trying to hastily come up with a witty comment when he saw a stretcher with a covered body. He tried to sit up only to fall back down again due to a serious pain in his chest.

"Who is that?" he asked.

The woman's face turned a little sullen when she replied. "I believe you know him as Dr. Nicholas Rush. I'm not positive, because his face was never shown in the Testament."

"What's going to happen to his body?"

"His body was too badly damaged by the stasis pods that we found you in. It barely survived awakening. However, he did manage to survive long enough for the Sakaurians to download his consciousness. Hopefully, by the end of the day, he will be placed in a new body. Perhaps a week if there was not enough of his genetic code to be properly read."

"What happens then?"

"We will grow a fresh body for his consciousness to reside in."

"So he won't look like him anymore?" The idea almost seemed appealing to Eli

"Only if his code was not properly read."

"What about the others?"

"With the exception of Dr. Rush, all of the Destiny crew survived. Several have extensive burns from being in stasis for so long, but they will recover. You, Dr. Rush, and Colonel Young suffered the worst injuries."

"How long were we in there?" Had they by chance been sleeping for more than three years? Had they been drifting for thousands of years?

"I'm not sure, but Jackson suspects it was somewhere close to three years." Eli breathed a sigh of relief. "The reason you were all burned so badly was because the pods were damaged and not prepared for such a journey."

"Wait, why? We ran diagnostics before we entered. And who's Jackson?"

"The pods were probably okay when you entered, but the ship is old. And Jackson is the lead scientist documenting Destiny. I asked that he be careful with the ship as it is old and you will need it to return home."

"Home?" The concept seemed foreign to Eli now after the years on Destiny.

The woman smiled. "Yes, home, Eli. You are all going home."

* * *

**AN: What do you think? Should Rush get a different body or should he look the same. I hoped you like it, please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Garden

"I'm sorry, Colonel Young, but a ten days is the earliest you can leave," Cassy translated for the alien in charge. "Everyone on your ship took serious damage, you and Eli especially. It's actually a miracle that you don't require new bodies like Rush. Plus It would be at least a week before the rest of your your crew is off our medication-"

"We'll use our own," Young stood his ground. He was still wary of the alien race that had saved them.

Cassandra translated this and the alien responded with what Young took as laughter, a high trilling sound. Throaty words were exchanged between Cassandra as she asked for more of an explanation.

"Colonel, your medical supplies are woefully inadequate even by your own standards. They are meant for everyday ills and should be conserved for you trip home. And even if your crew was ready to launch now, Destiny is not."

Young exhaled in frustration, not eager to admit defeat. He brought Cassandra over to the side. "Are you certain there isn't any other way?"

Cassandra smiled sympathetically. "I've looked at Destiny's engines myself. While under ordinary circumstances I might be able to rig something together, this needs to be done properly in order to be certain that you and your crew makes it over there in one piece."

"Alright," Young conceded. "But I want Destiny fully stocked before we go back."

* * *

Eli was lying there on his bed, trying to rest as the alien doctors told him to. Or at least, that what he thought they were asking him. It had been several hours since he had last seen Cassy. Some of the crew with minimal injuries had started to wake up. They all calmed each other down in the strange environment though no one had any idea what was going on. They simply followed the doctors' instructions and waited for Young to return.

A door opened and to everyone's surprise, and Eli's pleasure, it was Cassy. Young was following behind her. The crew began to bubble up with noise, asking questions. Cassy flinched as he shouted for quiet right behind her. She walked off to Eli's bed.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" She whispered in his ear.

"I should stay for Young's-"

"I fill you in. Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him off.

They walked through the hallways with an obvious destination in Cassy's mind. When Eli asked where they were going, she would only say it was a surprise. Eli noticed though that the circular hallways slowly grew larger until it opened into an enormous room.

It must have been the size of a football field, though Eli could only see the first twenty feet. it was a jungle inside, a maze filled with twisting plants the color of the rainbow. He looked up. He saw a glass ceiling showing the orange sky. A flying animal also flew with two tails trailing behind it. Eli's mouth dropped.

"Do you like it?" Cassy asked, quietly.

"Like it? This... this is amazing!" He responded, bringing our a smile from Cassy.

"I come here everyday for an hour for my breathing."

"What's wrong with you breathing?"

Cassy looked down, slightly embarrassed. "Um, I have asthma."

Eli guffawed. "Seriously?" Cassy nodded sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't mean to- I mean, you guys are super advanced two thousand years ahead of us. I thought you guys would have something-"

"We do. But the rest of the Descendants are in the other galaxy."

"How did you end up here then?"

Cassy looked around the garden. Her eyes were forlorn with memories. "It's a long story."

"I have nothing better to do."

"From what you've told me, you know that we were escaping natural disasters and left on ships. Our scientists had knew it would a couple hundred years before we saw the colony. It left years before I was born. Growing up on the ship, it was different. I spent all my time in the engine room beside my father. I knew everything about those engines and more.

"Eventually, when I was thirteen, we came across an inactive ship. It was obviously alien, but it wasn't Berzerker drones that destroyed some of our colonies, neither was it an Ursini ship. My father and I along with a team of scientists were sent out to see if we could salvage anything or even use it as our own. Population control was becoming an issue aboard.

"When we got there, everything powered up as if sensing us. My father and I were sent to the engine room to see what this ship had. When we got there, we quickly found out that this ship had hyperdrive engines. We were ecstatic. Instead of hundreds of years to reach our colony, it would only take a day or so. We were about to tell everyone else, when the engines activated on their own and left our people wondering.

"We reached the Sakauri a week later. It was their ship, sent out to explore the neighboring galaxy. They had lost contact with the ship years earlier and assumed it had been attacked thus the galaxy unsafe. I believe it was simply a lack of finding resources for the crew. The Sakauri have a high metabolism, and if they don't get the nutrients they need, they can die of starvation within a matter of hours. The reason we survived was because we brought supplies when boarding just as a precaution."

"So you've been here all that time. Why haven't you gone back?" Eli asked after she finished her story.

"Because the Sakauri still believe that the galaxy is unsafe. They are allowing us to live here as part of their benevolent generosity."

"Then why are we allowed to go back?"

"You have your own ship."

"Destiny only has FTL drive. How does that mean we're going home?"

"The Sakauri have been generous enough to allow us to install Sakauri hyperdrives onto Destiny with your approval, of course."

"Is that what Young was going to announce?"

"He was going to put it up to the crew to see if they wanted to go home or continue on Destiny's mission. He seemed convinced that with the exception of Dr. Rush, everyone would want to go home."

Eli laughed, knowing the fight Rush would put in. He didn't envy Young when he had to deal with it. But knowing Rush and Young, Eli would probably become involved somehow. "So that's it then. We're going home."

* * *

Inside the hospital, Lisa lay there quietly. She had heard Young's announcement and had raised her hand with everyone else for going back home. Ronald was in the bed next to her talking soothingly to her, keeping her company. He was burned as everyone else, though the two of them along with everyone inside their compartment had only minor injuries. But now Ronald was under the influence of the sedative the aliens had given him. She was alone with the sounds of the hushed whispers and her own thoughts.

A clicking came from far away. Slowly, it moved forward. The first time Lisa had heard the clicking, she was frightened until Ronald had said it was only one of the aliens. He still didn't like them and made snarky comments at them though they wouldn't understand. But now Lisa understood the clicking. The doctor was making its way over to her. It let out a low click then touched her hand. It still startled Lisa not to be able to see something come towards her, but this doctor seemed to understand and made it easier for her.

When it touched her hand, she could feel the rough hide and warmth as well. She felt its hand slowly take her pulse. Rather than be done with the other necessary tests though, its hand slowly moved up her arm and to her face. It rested on her eyes. Lisa tried to keep still, remembering Dale telling her that they were here to help, but she felt her heart beating rapidly.

The doctor removed its hands, made a sharp sound, then left. Lisa was wondering what they understood. And inside, a flicker hope. Could these aliens, advanced as they are, give her back her sight?

* * *

**AN: If you have any ideas where the story should go, review. Any comments or questions- review as well.**


	3. Chapter 3: Cassandra

Cassandra was sitting in her garden. Eli had just left to visit everyone else aboard the Destiny. Meanwhile, Cassy was unsure of what to think of the Ancestors. Growing up on the ship, she had heard all about them, but what she had heard was not at all what she saw.

She could remember the days aboard the ship. Growing up, it had been morning classes on a regular schedule. In the afternoons and every spare moment she had, she would go to the engine room to visit her father. There, she would learn about how the engines worked. By the time she was nine she was fixing the engines themselves and rigging them to work faster and faster.

She wished she could go back there. Back to that time when all she looked forward to was working on the ship engines. She wished she could see her mother and little brother again. Luke...

He was four when she left. He had just been showing her what he had learned in his classes that day when the sirens went off. Then she heard the voice of the captain announcing the discovery of a new ship. Her father appeared in their quarters and asked her to come explore the ship, since they had scanned no life signs. She jumped at the chance, thinking only of what sort of engines the ship would have. She also dreamt that it could have been Destiny itself.

Then after she boarded the ship, determined that the ship had advanced hyperdrive systems, the ship jumped and left everything she knew behind her. She had been grateful for her father, as it was the safety she found in his arms and his soothing voice that had kept her from crying during that agonizing week.

It was worse when they reached the Sakauri. They were benevolent, but it took days before anyone was understood. It was shortly after they had made it there that her father had a heart attack. She remembered standing there, crying, dressed in black as he was buried under alien soil. Jackson's arm had rested protectively on her shoulder; he and her father were good friends. But it hadn't changed the fact that she was alone.

It had been fifteen years since she had been stranded on the Sakauri planet. She now spoke the language fluently, along with the dozen others who were still with her. She spent most of her time working on Sakauri hyperdrives. She had accepted that she would never go home. The for the second time in her life, she heard sirens that signaled a ship.

When she had been called in, she recognized the design immediately, along with her other fellow humans. They were sent aboard with Sakauri scientists who revived the crew of Destiny and treated their wounds. Now there was a chance she could go home again.

But would she? It had been a couple days since the rescue and already she was beginning to grow attached to them. Particularly Eli. A part of her felt weird about it, but another wanted it more than anything.

She clenched her fists and breathed in deeply. The air in the garden was good. It did help her a lot and her attacks were not as frequent as during the journey to this galaxy. She had had attacks quite frequently and it was only her father who had helped her. Another reason to miss him. The doctors here were good though in helping her lungs breathe normally. She could now think clearly, rather than wait in fear for the next attack like she did all those years ago.

She would wait and see what would happen.

* * *

Cassandra walked back to the room to talk to Eli when a doctor stopped her. His name was Rekiki, the head doctor here. He was taller than most Sakauri and he sported purple hues, a rarity among his kind.

"A woman is blind over there," he spoke in his own harsh language.

"And?" Cassy knew she was being rude, but she wanted to talk to Eli about the communication stones.

"We have the technology to help her. However, we need to know how she became blind. You must talk to her."

"Okay."

Cassandra walked over to the woman Rekiki had mentioned. She was of average height with lighter skin and dark hair and dark eyes. Cassy knew her instantly as Dr. Lisa Parks, the matriarch of many. With Ronald Greer, they had had several children who likewise had several children and so forth and so forth. It was no hard to find a person who sported the surname of Greer. In fact, Cassy's own grandmother had it as a last name.

As Cassy came over though, Greer moved protectively in front of her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who are you?"

Cassy saw the surprise on Lisa's face. She made a mental note to announce her arrival sooner as not to startle her. "My name is Cassy. I'm hear to talk to Lisa."

"Yes?" Lisa responded warily. Cassy noted her trying to hide her uncertainty. Cassy admired her for that.

"The doctors here have informed me that you are blind."

"What about it?"

"They believe they have a cure-"

"A cure? Really? How?" Cassy heard the hope and joy in her voice. As well as the fear that her hope would be broken.

"Indeed, however they need to know why you're blind so they know which procedure to take."

Lisa smiled. "Of course. We were trying to recharge Destiny inside a blue supergiant. Um, I was trying to save some medicinals from Hydroponics when I got trapped. The ceiling broke and I was exposed to the star."

Cassy nodded and smiled. "Good. Blindness due to exposure to stars is common here among the Sakauri hatchlings. Usually, it's not permanent like yours, but there are procedures that can be done."

"So she'll be able to see again?" Greer asked.

"Yes, I believe she will." Cassy smiled and left to go tell the doctor.

* * *

Cassy was finishing telling Refiki what Lisa had told her when Eli called her over. She bowed her head to the doctor before leaving to join him on his bed. She noticed a certain look in his face. Cassy was unsure if she should be worried or not.

"I had a crazy idea," Eli started.

"How crazy?"

"You know how you said you could grow a new body for a consciousness like with Rush?"

"Yeah..."

"I was wondering... you see... we have two consciousnesses on Destiny that were downloaded because of an emergency. I was wondering if you could grow them new bodies as well."

"I assuming you don't have their genetic code to be read?" Cassy asked.

"No, their bodies were buried."

"So we would have to grow them brand new bodies which would take a while, but I think with some genetic samples from willing participants, we could do that. Who are these people, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Dr. Amanda Perry..."

"And?"

"Ginn."


	4. Chapter 4: The New Rush

Eli stood in the room where the bodies for Rush, Dr. Perry, and Ginn were being grown. With the exception of Rush, there was not much there yet. He could see the beginnings of basic organs being formed, such as the heart, lungs, and liver. According to Cassy, they would be finished by the end of the week while Rush's body would be completed by the end of the day. Already, Eli could see the the outline of Rush's face and the last strings of muscle tissue being threaded together.

Eli was much more curious though to see what Ginn would look like. As they had no genetic codes to be read, they had to start from scratch so to say with the genes. With Amanda, finding geen donors to create a body close enough to her original was not difficult. With Ginn on the other hand, there were very few options to come close to Ginn's slender body. Not to mention that only Cassy had the necessary immediate gene for red hair, but she was ineligible to donate. Eli didn't ask why.

He smiled thinking of Ginn. It had been so long since they had last seen each other. He hoped she would stay the same, though he knew that would be impossible. At the very least though, it would be the same comforting consciousness that he he cared about.

"Was she close to you?" A voice from behind startled Eli until he turned around and saw it was Cassy.

"Yeah, she was my girlfriend." The word still sounded strange on Eli's tongue. He didn't notice the subtle change in Cassy's face.

"Really? What was she like?"

"Amazing. Beautiful. Perfect. She was the first girl who saw me for me and cared about me anyways. She the first person to really care about me actually aside from my mom."

Cassy smiled, hiding the strange emotion the kept flickering inside her. "You must be happy then to get her back."

"Honestly, I'm a little worried," Eli confided.

"Why?"

"Well, what if now she doesn't see me the same way?"

Cassy giggled "Why wouldn't she?"

"I don't know. But I just have this feeling that afterwards, it won't work out."

"Not all relationships last to the very end, but if you care about her this much and she does too, I don't see why it wouldn't go far."

"What would you do if you were in my situation?" Eli pleaded.

"As you or her?"

"Me."

Cassy tipped her head back, thinking hard. She wanted to be honest for Eli and not listen to that selfish voice inside her. What would she do? "I think I would give it my all, but if it came to it and what we had was lost... then I would be thankful for having the person through everything, but I wouldn't cry that it didn't work out and hope that we could still be friends. Unless the other person cheated on me or hurt me. Then I would pummel him into a pulp."

Eli stared for moment. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." He stood back for a moment, mulling over what Cassy had said. It was sound advice. He would see what would happen between him and Ginn.

* * *

Eli walked over to Young. His talk with Cassy had done him good and had quelled his most pressing concerns now, but it looked as though more serious issues might come back up as Rush was just about ready to revive and breaking the news to him that Destiny was going home and not continuing on its journey. Eli hoped that Young wouldn't-

"Eli, I need you with me when he tell Rush the news."

Eli groaned, knowing it had been coming. "Can't someone-"

"No. Rush only listens to you."

Eli snorted. "He only listens to me long enough to tell me that I'm wrong."

"No, that's not true, Eli. He has admitted you genius before."

"Right before he goes into his safe little stasis pod with the rather real reality that I might die."

Young chuckled. He was doing very well, all things considered. He walked with a cane since he couldn't be persuaded to sit in a wheelchair. His skin was still fairly burned, but the care of the doctors was really working miracles. He almost looked as young when he first boarded Destiny. Yes, Young was the true testament to the Sakauri medical advances, not the majority of the crew with minor burns that took almost a day or two to heal. "That is a very Rush thing to do. But regardless, you're coming with me."

Eli was about to open his mouth. "I-"

"Now, Eli."

* * *

Eli was back in the room where the bodies were being grown. It was rather disgusting, seeing random body parts floating. Only Rush looked normal, his skin new and pink. And he was about to be woken. Young's presence did nothing to slow Eli's racing heart.

Young nodded to the Descendant nearby who translated it to the Sakauri who did as it was told. It was about to begin.

Steam rolled across the floor and the fluid sustaining Rush slowly drained. The glass, rather, the Sakauri substitute for glass, pulled back and Rush's body fell forward. Two Sakauri standing by caught his body and carefully carried it to a table where they neatly laid it down.

Eli stared at Rush. They had been able to successfully read Rush's genetic code in time, but Eli still saw slight differences. He looked several years younger. Eli had told Cassy who in turn told the Sakauri scientists that Rush was older, but it looked that Cassy was right. They would only grow a body to its prime; letting it degenerate was not part of the system. Eli jokingly wondered what Dr. Perry would think.

The Sakauri scientist walked up to Rush and inspected his body, perhaps seeing how it had turned out. It looked at Young and Eli, spoke something in its native tongue, then looked at the Descendant standing by.

"Scientist Crouka would like to know if the body is satisfactory," the Descendant translated.

"He looks like he's lost twenty years," Young pointed out.

After exchanging this, Crouka laughed. He said something which the Descendant translated as, "He probably has. Who knows, perhaps in a generation or two, you can look as he does."

Young smiled politely as he watched the alien brought over a device and set it near Rush's head. He wired him to the machine and put his six fingered hand onto the device turning it on. After a moment or two, the eyelids flickered and Rush was back. He looked confused, but seeing Young, his eyes closed again and uttered a groan.

"Good to see you to, Rush," Young responded with a fake smile.

"What's going on?"

"You came back from the dead," Eli said as he looked at the device the Descendant was holding. "Well, actually, your consciousness was downloaded from your old body, then downloaded into a new one."

"You've been out for about a week, Rush." Young added.

"A week? Where are we?" Rush sat up slowly and began to look around. His eyes stopped upon seeing the Sakauri standing nearby staring at him curiously. "Who are they?"

"You're on the Sakauri homeworld. They're taking us home."

"Home? How?"

"They plan to install one of their hyperdrives aboard Destiny. Overall, it should take us about two years to get back." Eli looked back at Rush.

"Oh, no, no, no. Ignoring the fact that Destiny couldn't handle it, what about her mission."

The Descendant took a step forward, entering the conversation. He was tall with blonde hair that had been slicked back. His eyes were an unusual shade of blue. "The Sakauri know what it is you're talking about, and according to them, your people aren't ready to know what it is."

"Excuse me, but I think I know more about it than them."

"Excuse me, Rush, but no, you don't. The Sakauri have known about it for millennia and haven't yet approached it because not even they are ready to understand the truth about it. They have been waiting until they are certain before they do go poking their noses where it shouldn't be."

Rush was about to say something when Young interrupted. "Rush, it's already be decided. We took a vote as to what to do."

"And did you take mine into account."

"Yes, we did. And it's irrelevant. Going home won by a landslide."

"Because they don't understand the mission."

"Because they care about getting home. I'm sorry, Rush."

"On the bright side, Dr. Perry will be back soon," Eli said when he couldn't stand the tension anymore.

"Mandy?" Rush's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. They don't have her original genetic code, so she won't look completely the same, but we found close matches to create something close."

"I suppose that means you'll have Ginn back." Rush said.

Eli smiled. "See, things aren't completely horrible."


	5. Chapter 5: Sight

Greer was standing anxiously by Lisa. The doctors had determined that her sight could indeed be saved and enough time had passed after the stasis burns for them to begin. He knew that Lisa wanted this more than anything, but something inside of him whispered that this would all go horribly wrong.

They had only landed here a eight days ago and only just met these aliens. Greer didn't trust them when they promised they harbored no ill will and he trusted the Descendants who translated for them even less. And Colonel Young had announced moments ago that they would be waiting here for another week while they waited for Dr. Amanda Perry and Ginn's bodies to be formed.

"Damn that Rush," Greer swore under his breath, quiet enough for Lisa not to hear. Or so he thought.

"It's not his fault." Lisa said. She thought he was talking about her blindness and perhaps he was. Lately, if Greer need someone to blame, he went straight for Rush.

He was happy for Eli, though. Lord knows that if he didn't end up with Ginn, the chances that he would ever find anyone willing to put up with him was close to zero. Rush, on the other side, didn't deserve Dr. Perry. Rush didn't deserve anything, except the beating that Greer dreamed about giving him every night.

"Are you ready, Dr. Park?" The woman that had first introduced the idea of Lisa's sight being saved same up. Greer didn't like her very much. He disliked her smile and her scientist way of talking, but she was better than the others. As if she knew what it was like to lose everything...

"Yes, thank you." Lisa stood up, her weight on Greer's arm. He knew Lisa would not listen to him if he said that he thought she shouldn't go through with this and would hate him forever if he tried to stop it. So he simply stood by silently, ignoring his gut feeling and trying not to interfere.

"If you'll come with me, please." The woman led them through a maze of hallways until they came to a single room with what looked like a miniature death ray on the side. A Sakauri scientist was standing there. It said something which the woman translated as, "We are ready to begin. If you'll lie down here."

Greer led her over to the slab of material which Lisa laid upon. He grabbed her hand tightly.

The Sakauri said something else which translated to, "I'm sorry, Sergeant Greer, but you'll have to leave as this is a closed procedure."

"I'm not leaving."

The woman repeated this back the Sakauri whose brow furrowed. His horns grew deeper in color. It said something quickly. It translated to, "Are you her mate?"

Greer's brow furrowed now as he looked towards Lisa who was listening in. "Humans don't have mates."

The woman smiled and he could see she was trying to not laugh. She looked at Lisa's whose face hadn't changed and replied back to the alien who sighed then went over to prepare its tools. The woman looked back. "You can stay."

* * *

Lisa didn't remember the procedure. The alien who performed the operation used a drug that knocked her out quickly. But when she woke, her eyes opened, and instead of darkness, she saw light.

It was fuzzy, as if looking through another person's prescription glasses. There were shapes and colors, but they made no sense together. She tried blinking, but nothing happened. She heard noises from her left and she saw what she assumed to be the Sakauri. It frightened her, but seeing the outline of Greer from her peripheral vision kept her from screaming.

"Dr. Park." A figure came next to the alien. Her skin was pale and her hair was red, but Lisa could not see more than that. "We finished the procedure. Your vision is repaired, however it will be a couple of days until you see clearly. Until then, you need to rest your eyes. Take this." Her pair of sunglasses were in her hands. "We have other things to help your eyes rest, but Hurka thinks that those will do so long you sleep plenty enough. Alright?" Something which Greer assumed to be tenderness entered her eyes.

"Thank you. This is the more than I hoped for." A tear fell down her cheek.

* * *

**AN: Sorry if this seems really boring right now. I am trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends before chaos ensues.**


	6. Chapter 6: Something Different

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this uploaded. I had finals to study for. Anyways, sorry it's a slightly awkward chapter. I hope I threw in enough of a twist to make it not a complete filler. As always, tell me what you think! Read and review!**

Cassandra was walking to the Jackson's quarters where she had been summoned. When she got to the simple room with only a bed inside, she saw the others who had first come here to this galaxy with her. She got nervous as a variety of expressions were there among the faces. She knew that Jackson always called a family meeting if an important decision was about to be made.

"What's going on, Jackson?" she asked warily.

"Cassandra, you've been spending a lot of time with the Ancestors since their rescue."

"And?" Jackson had tried to take over the role of her father after his passing. He had not been very good at it and extremely awkward to at times. Cassy prayed that he wasn't about to say something mortifyingly stupid.

"We want you to ask us a favor of them."

"What type of favor?" Cassandra was unsure of why she feeling defensive.

"We want to go home on the Destiny with them."

* * *

Young was talking with Scott about something important when Rush came towards him. Young saw the expression on his face and should have seen it coming but Rush's fist hit his mouth before he could stop him. Scott dragged an angry Rush off of Young, but Young told him to release him. As Young wiped the blood away from his lip, Rush began to rant.

"We can't just ignore Destiny's mission!"

"You just said you were okay with it." Young was unsure of what was going through Rush's head. Granted though, he rarely knew anyways so there wasn't much difference.

"Well, frankly, these aliens aren't as good as they say they are because I don't remember much of anything right after waking up."

"Do you remember about Dr. Perry?" Scott asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Rush didn't seem to understand where Scott was going with this.

"Rush, the Sakauri have a way to bring back Dr. Perry. I don't know much other than they are growing a new body for her as we speak and should be done in a couple days."

"How?" Rush was dumbfounded for the first time in Young's memory.

"I just said, I don't understand the details. You should go ask one the Descendants."

Rush shook his head, either too arrogant or still disoriented from waking up. Young watched him carefully, making sure he wouldn't repeat his punch. Scott was also prepared to stop Rush as a precaution. However, Rush seemed more intent on Destiny than anything else.

"Destiny's mission is of the utmost importance. We can't just abandon her now."

"We're not abandoning her. We're going home."

"Completing Destiny's mission is our way home. Did you forget that?"

"Actually, no, not anymore." Young was about to walk away before he turned back. "If you want to do something about continuing Destiny' mission, then I suggest you go talk to a Descendant. They know more." Young left with Scott following him while a disgruntled Rush sulked off.

* * *

Eli walked into the garden, hoping to see a face with red hair and golden eyes. Cassy was there, sitting quietly, maybe meditating, taking deep breaths. He knew it was her hour of sitting in here. Eli felt a little guilty knowing her routine by heart after a few days, but he told himself it was because there was nothing else for him to do.

"What are you up to?"

"Breathing." Cassy never opened her eyes. Eli sat down next to her and after a moment of awkward silence and Eli feeling helpless, she opened them. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Eli felt oddly eager to hear what she had to ask.

"When you go back home..." Cassy was unsure of how to start. "When you guys all leave..."

"What is it?" Eli was curious as to what was giving her trouble speaking.

"I've been here for fifteen years. That's fifteen years without my family. I mean, the others, we're as close as ever, but I want to see my little brother again. I want to see mom. I... I need to tell them what happened to Dad. When you leave on Destiny...If, I don't get that chance..." Eli saw her cry next. She was not bawling or whimpering, simply crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She seemed sad, but she was not crying out anguished choking noises that often occurred with heartbreak. To Eli, seeing only the tears was more saddening than if she had broken down.

"I'll speak to Young..." Eli put his arm over her, trying to comfort her. She leaned into him and accepted his hug. She had been waiting fifteen for a hug like that. She was not going to turn away.

* * *

Rush was sitting in the room where Mandy's body was growing. It looked remarkably like her. There subtle differences and it was not the body Rush had dreamed about so many times to Mandy left. But it was still her. And her brilliant mind would be there. It was her mind and her capacity to pick things up quickly that had first drawn him to her.

Rush was fascinated by the Sakauri technology though he would never admit it. It was curious to see their ideals. They were incredibly advanced in medicine, flying, habitat restoration, increasing the bodies potential; Rush had never had so much energy. Yet, they were not as advanced as humans in terms of weapons. They had projectile weapons and small explosives, but it was rarely used as a term of hurting one another. They were ambitious, but did not have the drive of conflict or war in their blood as humans did.

A Descendant walked in. She had red hair and startling gold eyes. Rush was fascinated how the human genome created that. She could only have been 5'4" or 5'5" but she walked with pride and authority.

"Dr. Rush, you'll be pleased to know that the Sakauri have granted your request."

"What request?"

"On the subject of Destiny's mission, the Sakauri will not allow Destiny to go any further. They don't believe that it had the necessary requirements to survive."

"Destiny-"

"However," The Descendant really did not like being interrupted, "they are willing to grant you one of their own ships. While they do not believe you complete the journey, they all agree you have a hell of a better chance getting there on their ships. You'll be assigned the ship known as Fate."

Rush laughed at the coincidence of the names. "What about the information Destiny has? I'll need that."

The girl nodded. "Fate has only the basics programmed to allow the complete storage of Destiny's memory banks. The process has already been approved by Young and started. You will take off tomorrow."

Rush thought for a moment. This was not the way it was supposed to be.

"This is your only option, Dr. Rush. Take it or leave it."

Rush took it.


	7. Chapter 7: Opened Eyes

Today was the day that Eli had been waiting for for a long while. Today, Ginn and Dr. Perry would be finished and their minds downloaded into the new bodies. Eli felt like he had when he had first been given a hamster to teach him responsibility when he wanted to be a vet. After that thought, Eli sent up a quick prayer hoping that this would end better than that.

As Eli ran to the room, Rush was already there along with Colonel Young. Rush had spent the last day watching the finishing of Amanda. Eli guessed that he hadn't slept that night and spent the entire night there. Eli thought that was creepy until he remembered that he had done the same thing once or twice, simply staring for hours on end at where the body was being formed when he wasn't talking to Cassandra or running errands for Young.

Cassandra walked in the room following a Sakauri scientist. She had a weird look on her face; Eli made a mental note to ask her about that later. Rush had a crooked half smile on his face, the closest Eli thought he could ever get to showing happiness. Young looked like Young, with his hands behind his back and observing everything through his tired eyes.

The Sakauri began to speak rapidly to Cassandra who translated, "It is the Sakauri's deepest regret that they couldn't use the original code to grow the human body, however, they hope that these bodies are adequate for your needs. They would like to offer that if they are not, then they would be happy to try again. Though with you all needing to return home, they recommend that you accept them as they are."

Young nodded. "We aren't going through this again. We've been here too long already. Nothing personal, we just don't want to impose on your hospitality any longer."

Cassy translated and the Sakauri nodded. The process began. It took several minutes and while Dr. Perry looked almost the same, Eli was shocked with how Ginn turned out. She still had the slim build of before though admittedly a little taller, but now instead of her red hair, she had platinum blonde. Eli wondered how that had happened, but he remembered enough from high school biology that the combination existed had to have existed in the DNA; it just wasn't a dominant trait.

While other than that, Ginn had a similar body, though it still through Eli off to see her with the platinum blonde hair. Young seemed equally surprised and Rush was too busy watching Dr. Perry. He was also looking over the shoulder of the Sakauri and studying it; he was not allowed to study too closely to the technology, none of the Destiny crew were allowed to. Eli watched as the body was hooked up to the Sakauri tech and the downloading of her consciousness began. Eli hoped that she was still the same Ginn.

After another moment, Ginn's eyes flickered open and when she saw Eli, a smile spread across her face. Eli returned the smile as her face turned concerned speaking softly under her breath, "What... how...?" She was still slightly disoriented.

"It's a long story, but you're here."

"Where am I?" She started to cough, freaking out Eli, but less than a moment later, she stopped.

"The planet is called Urou. It's home to the Sakauri. They grew you a new body and now you're here. You're back, Ginn."

Ginn tried to sit up, but Cassy held her down. "It's best if you don't sit up right away. I'll see if I can get you a mirror so you can see. But for now, just stay still. Eli will keep you company."

Ginn looked puzzled as she didn't recognize the face; it wasn't a part of Destiny's crew. Though at Eli's assurance, she weakly grabbed his hand and he held it tightly. He wasn't about to lose her now. He could not go through that again. He would not. Losing Ginn was worse than death itself.

Cassandra walked out of the room to find a mirror. She had a small one in her bag from when she first came. She couldn't remember why she had brought it, it had been so long ago. However, it had come in handy for many things. Dr. Amanda Perry had turned out well, Rush had not complained, simply been happy that she was back with him. She had been surprised at his new youth, but she had been happy to be with him. Cassandra could now place a name on the feeling that had been inside her. It was envy. She realized it as Eli and Ginn held hands. She was unsure if she was jealous of Ginn and what she had with Eli, but Cassy was envious of the closeness they shared. She had never had that option. The others that had come with her were at least fifteen to twenty years older than her.

Cassy tried to blink away the burning in her eyes, the earlier signal of tears. She refused to cry, not over something that had never happened. She would get her chance to be close to others as Rush, Mandy, Eli and Ginn were to each other. She was going home after all. But why did that thought not make her happy? Why didn't it comfort her?

She walked into her room. It was messy, laid out with stuff that she was trying to pack. There were so many memories that she had collected here over the years. She had never expected to go back home, so she had never thought that she would ever need to pick and choose. Going through her closet looking for her bag with the mirror, she saw her father's. Seeing it there for the first time in a long while, she hesitantly opened it.

The first thing she saw a picture of her mother when they were her age. There was another one with Cassy and her younger brother Luke when she was nine and he had just been born. She smiled sadly. There was also a note inside that she hadn't noticed before.

_Casy,_

_I've non for a wil now and hoped that I culd tel yu under beter circumstanses. But the truth is I'm dying. I hav had a hart isue al mi lif which yu no abowt. Wat yu don't no is that I am in the last stages of hart falur. I had an apointment to get a replasement hart. Then the alien ship cam up. I asumed that I wuld hav mi apointment when we got back._

_But as yu no, we havn't goten back yet. Whil that mit change soon, I am leving this not in cas yu find me...ded. Wow, it's hard to writ that word in context with me. However, in cas uv that, no that I luv yu. I alwas hav and alwas wil. Tel yur mom and bruther abowt me and that I luv them to. Jaxon nos abowt this and wil tel yu if it hapens. I hop yu never find this not. Yu ar briliant, Casy. Yu can achev anything. I no yu wil go beyond the stars and mabe even be the won to rech Destiny._

_Dad_

Cassy felt her heart fill with rage. Her father knew he was dying and did not tell her. He had known! Jackson had known! And he did not tell her. Cassy felt the tears from earlier run freely down her face. She got up out of the room with one thought on her mind.

He had known.

* * *

**Author's Note: Something that isn't happy finally happens! Sorry if this isn't what you expected to thicken the plot or as dramatic, but I needed something to happen. It can't always be rainbows and puppies. Also, can I just say that it is hard to write phonetically? Gosh, I wish the Descendants had learned proper grammar. Sorry if it seems overkill. As always, please review! It makes me happy.**


	8. Chapter 8: Broken

**Author's Note: Thank you all for being so patient with me! I'm sorry it took so long to update. This one just gave me a lot of trouble and I'm sorry if it is awkward. But here is some conflict, finally! Oh, and here is a translation of the letter to Cassy from her dad in case you were having trouble reading it.**

_**Cassy,**_

_**I've known for a while now and hoped that I could tell you under better circumstances. But the truth is I'm dying. I have had a heart issue all my life which you know about. What you don't know is that I am in the last stages of heart failure. I had an appointment to get a replacement hart. Then the alien ship came up. I assumed that I would have my appointment when we got back.**_

_**But as you know, we haven't gotten back yet. While that might change soon, I am leaving this not in case you find me...dead. Wow, it's hard to write that word in context with me. However, in case of that, know that I love you. I always have and always will. Tell your mom and brother about me and that I love them too. Jackson knows about this and will tell you if it happens. I hope you never find this note. You are brilliant, Cassy. You can achieve anything. I know you will go beyond the stars and maybe even be the one to reach Destiny.**_

_**Dad**_

* * *

Eli had decided to show Ginn to the garden that Cassy had shown him. He thought it would be the perfect thing to show Ginn and might help her get used to the idea of having a new body. She had reacted well, though Eli could that she was having difficulty adjusting as foods tasted different and her body reacted differently than before.

When the couple got there, Ginn had the same reaction he had. She was absolutely stunned by the beauty and foreignness of it. She stood there in awe at the opening and it took some time before Eli managed to pull her away. He led her down the path where he ran into a very bruised, very hurt Cassy.

She was lying on the ground with one of her arms at an impossible angle. Blood was dripping out from a cut on her forehead. Eli stood there in shock while Ginn ran down to check her heartbeat. Ginn shouted at the motionless Eli to get help. As the words registered in his brain, he finally the ability to move and ran off in search of someone who could help her.

Breathless after the search, he finally found a doctor in the hospital room. He ran up to the Sakauri and words began to tumble out of his mouth. The doctor was unsure of what he was saying, though he understood it was important. TJ came up to him and asked him what was wrong. He was about to explain, when he saw a man walk in, a Descendant named Jackson who had similar injuries as Cassy. Eli walked up to him.

"What did you do to her?!" he shouted, waking even those on sedatives.

"What do you mean, Mr. Wallace?"

"I mean," Eli narrowed his eyes. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Her!"

"Eli, what's going?" TJ asked with the Sakauri standing behind her, his horns flaring colors as he detected the meaning of the voices.

"He did something to Cassy!" The man tried to back up and get around, but Eli wouldn't allow it. The Sakauri saw this, and falling on all fours, whipped its tail underneath both of the men's feet causing them to topple over.

"Eli, what did he to to Cassy?" Another Descendant had walked over by the Sakauri's unusually aggressive behavior. She had dark hair and almond eyes. Her skin was a golden tan color with lots of freckles.

"I don't know..." Eli suddenly felt very foolish for nearly attacking this man, though the anger and certainty that he was behind Cassy's condition did not leave. "She's lying in her garden. She's been beaten pretty badly and losing blood quickly. Ginn is with her now, trying to help out." Eli felt his heart still racing.

The Descendant translated and Eli thought the Sakauri's face went serious. Words were exchanged and suddenly, the Sakauri doctor ran off with TJ and the Descendant following closely behind. More Sakauri came in and surrounded the two men. Eli hoped that TJ would come quickly and it wouldn't be too late for Cassy.

* * *

They came in with Cassy several minutes later. Rumor spread fast as the small group of Descendants were waiting with the Destiny crew. They gasped in horror as they saw Cassy come in Ginn was following closely behind. Both Eli and Jackson were given brutal stares. Eli watched as they placed her on a bed and TJ worked side by side with a Sakauri doctor as they tended to Cassy's injuries.

After several minutes of tense silence, the Descendant from earlier came up to them. "Her injuries are serious, but they will heal themselves quickly. Eli, tell me what you know. Not what you suspect, but what you know."

Eli took a deep breath. "Ginn was having trouble getting used to the new body. It was a transition for her that she didn't entirely like. So I offered to take her to the garden that Cassy showed me to take her mind off of it. I found Cassy lying there much like I imagine you found her. I came to get help, then found _him_ walking around looking like he just came from the same fight she did."

"She said tell her what you know, not what you think, Wallace." Jackson was quick to point out.

"I did. I used what was called a simile!" Eli retorted.

"Boys, not now. Jackson, how did you get those injuries?" The Descendant female asked.

He looked at her, then dropped his gaze. "Rose, you know me better than anyone. I am telling you the truth when-"

"Jackson, how did you get those injuries?"

"Cassy."

"What? That's impossible!" Eli shouted.

Jackson shot him a look. "I was walking through the garden to see if she had managed to get us a ride home. She saw me, then attacked me. I defended myself. That's the truth."

"We'll have to wait until Cassy wakes up before we can confirm you story. Until then though, the Sakauri would like to place you in separate quarters under guard. _Just_ until we can confirm anything."

Eli nodded and Jackson did so as well. Eli did not like it, but knew he had to. He caught a glimpse form Young who nodded his approval of Eli's cooperation. Eli halfheartedly smiled back before being led away by Sakauri guards.

**Author's Note: What do you think? Review and tell me! Also, reviews help me write faster!**


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